Official Safety Department Release On Registering Guns Used In Permit Classes

By Kleinheider Posted on December 18, 2008 at 5:02 pm

The presser:

This week the Department of Safety mailed new Handgun Safety School Class Roster forms to all 164 Handgun Safety Schools across the state.

The new forms inadvertently included three sections that requested the make of the gun, handgun serial number, and whether the school or student owned the handgun. This should not have been done and the sections were included in error. These new forms had been created in response to a Comptroller’s Performance Audit finding relative to verifying an applicant’s successful completion of a handgun safety course. The intent of the new form was to verify participation in the handgun safety course.

TDOS rules and regulations require records of students who participated in the handgun safety course. This allows the department to verify that an individual applying for a permit has successful completed the course with the handgun safety school. Failure to verify that individuals who apply for a handgun carry permit have successfully completed a course with an approved school may potentially allow individuals to submit false certificates and obtain a handgun carry permit.

A letter from Handgun Permit Unit Director Lisa Knight is being sent to handgun school owners informing them that the Department of Safety has instructed them not to complete the three sections. The Handgun Unit is in the process of revising the form and mailing new forms that omit those three sections.

“There was no intent by the Department of Safety to create any sort of gun registry.” stated Commissioner Dave Mitchell. “The department regrets any confusion or misunderstanding caused by the issuance of the new handgun safety roster form.”

PREVIOUSLY:
None Of Your Business Gun Update
Communicating Intentions

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Tags: carry permit, Department of Safety, Firearm, gun registry, guns, roster, Tennessee Firearms Association  

Department Of Safety Communicating Intentions Not To Require Reporting Of Firearm Serial Numbers Used In Safety Classes

By Kleinheider Posted on at 1:49 pm

From the office of Rep. Susan Lynn in response to this post:

I spoke with Lisa Knight, assistant director of Handgun Carry Permits at the TN Department of Safety. She stated that her office is in the process of issuing retraction letters regarding the requirement of serial numbers from carry permit instructors in the rosters that are required from each school. TDOS is aware that the requirement of serial numbers could be construed as an attempt to create a handgun registry which, while not the department’s intent, is nonetheless unacceptable under the law. So they are communicating their intentions not to require serial numbers.

School rosters are allowable under the TDOS’ Rules and Regulations (1340-2-3-.03G) and require the student’s name, and the make and model of the weapon with which they trained (which often is the school’s weapon, as many schools will not allow a first-time student to train with their own weapon). The caliber is not required information. Make and model of a student’s training weapon is information that has always been required on certificates, so it is not newly required information.

The roster, which was created in response to a Department audit finding, is used to verify certificates that are turned in after the class. TDOS’ Handgun Carry Permit office checks certificates against school rosters as a part of identifying false certificates.

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Tags: carry permit, Department of Safety, Firearm, gun registry, Tennessee Firearms Association